Comments on: Cast iron, five recipes which use it, and all from an RV

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:43:45 +0000

@James — Your local hardware store is usually the easiest place to find them, in the camping or BBQ sections.

By: James

James — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:42:38 +0000

Is there a good place to get an American made cast iron dutch oven? I’d love to add one to my kitchen.

By: gypsy packer

gypsy packer — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:12:02 +0000

@Lori–second vote for cornbread. White, unsweetened, made with buttermilk and about 1/3 flour, eaten with just about anything, including home-canned blueberries or blackberries for a dirt-cheap and filling breakfast.

Or, chop sweet red peppers and green onion tops into it, and fry the batter in patties for a great snack or side dish.

By: Denise

Denise — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:35:43 +0000

The Boy Scouts have perfected cooking meals in a trusty cast iron dutch oven. You’re right Keter, enameled cast iron works great in the kitchen but not on the campfire. One of my favorite recipes is cobbler: http://www.scoutorama.com/reci.....rec_id=115

By: green

green — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 05:44:31 +0000

I LOVE cast iron! We got our first 3 skillets at a yard sale 1 1/2 years ago from an older man who was a collector of them. He knew everything. No doubt, the best deal ever… ($24 for 3 – 6, 8 and 10 Griswolds)… I just got a couple of deeper skillets maybe you could call them Dutch ovens from in laws… I’m hoping that it will be big enough to try baking bread in.

When I was a kid, my mom used cast iron all of the time too, but stuff always stuck to it. She totally did not get the “seasoning” part and used soap and scrubbers on it every time. She’s still confused as to why I love mine so much.

Oh, and the collector guy said that the old cast iron is denser than the newer stuff – so if you can find it on Ebay or some place, the older is worth the money. I really wish that we’d had bought more from him…

By: lucy1965

lucy1965 — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:53:12 +0000

@Adele I’d agree with Ann that the 5 quart Dutch oven is going to be the most versatile; I’ve chosen to go with enameled cast iron, as I do a lot of sauces with wine or tomatoes in mine, and having had occasion to reseason once (I’ve forgiven the friend who did it to my 12″ skillet — mostly ), I’m not willing to take the chance!

I can wholeheartedly recommend the Lodge, with the suggestion that you replace the plastic knob with a Le Creuset stainless one: they’re often sold in just that bundle on Amazon. I’ve cooked with both and haven’t noticed a difference except in price.

By: Ann

Ann — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:03:34 +0000

Adele: I have four cast iron dutch ovens: 12″(7 qt), 10″ (5 qt), and two small 8″ (2 qt.). I’d start with the 10″. It’s probably the most versatile–big enough for most recipes, but not too big. I also love the 2 qt ones (Lodge Logic Serving Pot with Iron Cover) because they are so useful for many side dishes, and I use them almost every day. But they’re not big enough for most standard dutch oven recipes. Also, the bigger dutch ovens can be used as skillets that won’t splatter as much (because of their tall sides). I bought the 7 qt. and 2 qt. on Amazon (cheap and free shipping), but I got the 5 qt. one years ago at a garage sale for $5–best garage sale find I’ve ever had. Also, in case you’re not aware, the 7 qt. lid works on the Lodge 12″ skillet, the 5 qt. lid on the 10″ skillet, and I assume the 2 qt. works on the 8″ skillet (although I don’t have an 8″ skillet). That’s nice because the skillets don’t come with lids, but the dutch ovens do, so that saves you money if you don’t need the lids for both at the same time. I use cast iron almost exclusively, and the 5 qt. dutch oven is rarely off my stove.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 18:21:45 +0000

The most flavorful, easiest, healthiest dutch oven meals my husband and I have found are from the book, “Glorious One Pot Meals” by Elizabeth Yarnell. Check out the web site: http://www.gloriouspotmeal.com/ We’ve loved every recipe we’ve tried

In the summer we cook these meals outside using a traditional unenameled dutch oven and charcoal briquets on the lid and underneath. It’s an easy way to cook great food and keep our kitchen from heating up. Can’t say enough about how great this cooking method and these meals have worked for us.

By: Sheryl

Sheryl — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:01:59 +0000

LOVE my cast iron!

Lori’s right – the only way to get really awesome cornbread is with a hot cast iron skillet and bacon grease. Slap some homemade apple butter on it and oh man! what a meal!

Right now I’m making a copycat recipe for Wendy’s Chili in my Lodge enameled cast iron dutch oven :

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recip.....6607.shtml

By: Living the Balanced Life

Living the Balanced Life — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:53:49 +0000

I just recently watched the movie Julie and Julia and they used the Le Creuset and they made it look so good! I have not ever used one (although I have some cast iron for camping) I may get one for us to use inside! Plus, they are pretty!
Bernice

By: Adele

Adele — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:44:33 +0000

I don’t own a dutch oven yet (but I do love my Le Creuset grill pan!), and part of the reason is that I don’t know what size dutch oven to buy. Any suggestions for figuring out what size is optimal?

Thanks!

By: Keter

Keter — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:34:51 +0000

Like AJ, I switch back and forth between stainless and cast iron, depending on the dish, because cast iron imparts a unique flavor, and some recipes are improved by this, and others aren’t. Enameled cast iron does not impart this flavor.

A couple of notes on enameled cast iron: don’t put it over a campfire, it can permanently soot-stain. Also don’t use metal implements with it, as it can scratch – particularly true for the newer versions, which use a different formula for the enamel than the vintage LeCreuset.

By: aj

aj — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:58:59 +0000

I have a few Lodge Logic cast iron items…a small round griddle, a long griddle that goes over 2 burners, a big ole round deep skillet that is HEAVY, and my favorite little pan that is perfect for frying 2 eggs at a time.

I switched over to cast iron & stainless steel cookwear after getting really tired of replacing my nonstick cookwear because the teflon would eventually start flaking off…and then I found out how BAD the teflon was for us!!

I love using my well seasoned cast iron. I did learn that you can’t really do tomato sauces in the pans as it will ruin the seasoning. But that is totally fixable, you just have to re-season them.

And this Christmas my Aunt got me a Rachael Ray enameled cast iron pot…and it is lime green. So adorable! And very versital. I love it so much already.

I think I will try out the french onion soup recipe, sounds yummy!

By: Lori

Lori — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:40:28 +0000

Cornbread. My great grandmother, my grandmother, and my mother and all her sisters all cooked in cast iron. That is all they had. They were farmers in rural Kentucky since the mid 1700s and it was just the way things were. I have one of my grandmother’s cast iron frying pans (it is OLD). I cook with it all the time and you really can make anything in it. But Cornbread ROCKS. Perfect, southern cornbread that you crumble up over a bowl of pinto beans that you have cooked all day on the back burner with bacon grease. It pleases the tummy and it pleases the soul.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:15:29 +0000

Such a coincidence that you posted this now. Just last week I bought my first cast iron pan. I don’t cook much, but two of my goals for 2011 are to lose a bunch of weight and save money, so I don’t have much choice.

I picked up a Lodge grill pan, which has the ridges on the bottom. I like grilling, but used to think I couldn’t really do it during the winter. But I’ve discovered that anything that can be grilled can be cooked similarly in the grill pan. So far I’ve done chicken breasts and steaks … never thought I’d be cooking steak on the stove (and in the oven), but they turned out great! And it’s sorta fun.